The reason Yashiro was so restless and on edge was simple: he carried the memories of his past life. That meant he knew exactly what point in the timeline this was—one of the most dangerous moments in Konoha's history.
Right now, Uchiha Obito was about to unleash the Nine-Tails on the village.
Yashiro, being the cautious and genre-savvy reincarnator he was, didn't need a second warning. He had already accepted dozens of missions far from Konoha and had taken his lovely young wife—Hyūga Hanako—with him to hide out. His plan was simple: wait until the disaster ended, then return to the village, open a barbecue shop, and live the most peaceful, low-key life imaginable.
But Yashiro never expected that his mission would go smoothly—too smoothly. The task ended much earlier than planned, forcing him to start the journey back to the village ahead of schedule.
This scared the hell out of him.
All the way back, Yashiro kept stalling—finding excuses, dragging his feet, even taking advantage of the situation to… well… deepen his relationship with his adorable wife.
But these little schemes of his didn't escape the sharp eyes of Hyūga Hanako, the cute, short-haired, deceptively shrewd young woman he had married.
She saw through all his excuses instantly.
And so, with cheeks burning red, Hanako tied him up—literally—wrapped him like a rice dumpling, and began dragging him back toward Konoha with single-minded determination.
Her logic was firm:
"I already gave my everything to this man… I must make things official. There's no way I'm letting him run away."
With this in mind, Hanako wiped the sweat from her forehead, grabbed the rope binding her husband, and marched forward, determined to reach her parents in Konoha and have everything settled as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, wrapped tightly like cargo, Yashiro stared at the petite figure pulling him along. He never imagined that all his clever delaying tactics—even sacrificing his dignity—would become the very reason he was being forcibly hauled back by his newlywed wife.
"Oh… if only I had held back that day," Yashiro muttered bitterly to himself.
"Ha… ha… flower…"Even though he was wrapped up like a dumpling, he could still look outside. Raising his head, he glanced toward Konoha—and froze.
In the direction of the village, faint flickers of firelight glowed in the distance.
He didn't need to think twice to know what it meant.
"Oh no… damn it—Nine-Tails. It has to be the Nine-Tails attacking the village!"
Yashiro's face turned pale. His luck was unbelievably rotten—returning at this exact moment? Unbelievable.
I need to stop Hanako right now. With our strength, going back means walking straight into death's jaws.
Hearing his voice behind her, Hanako turned around. Her round little face, still carrying a touch of baby fat, puffed out in irritation.
"What now? Still trying to run away?""If you play any more dirty tricks, I swear I'll deal with you myself.""And if you dare not take responsibility for what you did to me, I'll never let you go!"
Whenever Hanako thought of how Yashiro had tried to sneak away twice, her chest tightened with frustration—like a little girl tricked by a shady older boy into stealing candy.
Her voice trembled as she squatted down beside him, eyes glassy with unshed tears. She pounded his chest lightly with her small fists, then slapped him a few more times for good measure before collapsing onto him, crying.
"Idiot…""B-Bastard…""Bastard…"
Hearing Hanako's choked little curses, looking at this cute, emotional creature trembling in front of him, Yashiro could only sigh helplessly—yet a warm, protective feeling rose from deep inside him.
After being together for nearly ten years, he knew how much he liked her. Otherwise, why would he have run away twice only to come crawling back like a lovesick idiot, just to be caught again?
It wasn't that he didn't trust her—it was his own fault. Yashiro knew very well that right now Hanako needed a promise—a man's commitment.
She was anxious because chastity still meant everything to women of this era.
He understood her. Truly.
But the timing… could not be worse.
And although Hanako bore the Caged Bird seal, her family still meant everything to her. If he told her the truth about what was happening, she would rush back to protect the village and her clan without hesitation.
That was the last thing Yashiro wanted.
Because Yashiro was selfish.He didn't want the girl he loved to be hurt.The Will of Fire, to him, was worth less than a fart.
"Hanako… don't cry. Listen to me. I really like you, and I'll take responsibility."
Yashiro strained against the rope—easily breaking her amateur binding—and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
The truth was, this kind of binding was a joke for someone of his strength. But he stopped struggling because going back to Konoha was pointless… and because deep down, he hoped the Nine-Tails incident would already be over by the time they returned.
But fate clearly had other plans.
At this point, Yashiro refused to go back no matter what. He had no cheat, no golden finger, no miraculous destiny, no plot armor, and no wise old mentor.
He wasn't a hero.He didn't have the qualifications to be one.
He was just an ordinary guy. An ordinary man who finally had a stable job and a woman he loved. For Yashiro, that was enough.
"Hey… Hanako… do you remember the first time we met?"
"You were twelve, right? I had been held back two years and was miserable, so I went to Ichiraku Ramen to cheer myself up. I even added two eggs."
"…Mm."
Hanako, still sniffling in his arms, paused. She wiped her tears, slipping into memory as she gave a soft, symbolic reply.